


the only chance i wish i had to take

by deadgreeks



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Adorable Finn, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Trans Male Character, Trans Poe Dameron, except not at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 17:11:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10391778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadgreeks/pseuds/deadgreeks
Summary: Poe’s eyes lit up. “Jessika has a performance tonight, downtown! You guys should come, c’mon, let me make it up to you for accidentally attacking you.”“You already made it up to us with the coffee,” Rey said, but before she could continue to give a polite excuse as to why they couldn’t go, Finn interrupted.“But we could totally go just to hang out,” he said quickly, shooting Rey what she called his ‘patented puppy eyes.’“That’d be even better.” Poe beamed at him, and Rey glared. She very much preferred to stay home and watch weird old movies together rather than go out, and usually Finn was inclined to agree. But.Butthere was a hot guy with stylishly tousled curls and warm eyes with the kind of easy confidence Finn could only dream of inviting them out to see his cool friend’s band. This was a night for exception-making. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”





	

“Listen, all I’m saying,” said Rey, “is that if you really think about it, Neutral Milk Hotel is kind of the father of all whiny voice banjo man bands.”

“I don’t even know what Neutral Milk Hotel is,” Finn told her, squinting at his coffee. “I think they misspelled my name. I think it says ‘Fan.’”

“You’d know who Neutral Milk Hotel was if you listened to the mixes I sent you,” Rey sniffed. “You have terrible taste in music, Finn. No offense. Anyway, they always misspell names. I think they do it on purpose.”

“I do _not_ have terrible taste in music.”

“You do so. Name one band you know that isn’t, like, Top 40 Hits.”

“You’re a hipster, Rey,” he informed her. “A pretentious hipster. Carly Rae Jepsen is quality music, just because she’s had popular songs doesn’t mean she’s not as good as Natural Dairy or whatever.”

“ _Natural Dairy?_ ” Her voice rose to an unnatural pitch. She pulled her shirt in front of her by the hem, gesturing to the Neutral Milk Hotel logo on the front. “Do you see this t-shirt? I got this at their _very last tour._ They’re a classic. How did you get ‘Natural Dairy’ from _Neutral Milk Hotel._ ” She gestured vaguely at her back, where all the tour dates were listed. “2015. _The year my soul died._ Their last show of all time, and I was there. Can you believe that? _Natural Dairy._ Pff.”

“If you think they’re whiny voice banjo men, why are you wearing their t-shirt, anyway?” Finn took a hesitant sip of his chai latte, making a face. No whipped cream. Disappointing. Finn _loved_ sweets.

“Because--” her doubtlessly pretentious reply was interrupted with a yelp as someone shoved her from behind. She dropped her coffee, the cardboard cup rolling across the sidewalk, tracking mocha as it went. She whirled around, seething.

“Oooh shit,” said Finn. He turned to look at Rey’s attacker, eyes wide, and nearly choked. He was fucking _hot_. Tousled dark hair, gorgeous eyes bright with mischief, dark skin flushed as though he’d run to catch up with them, chest heaving. He was short, about as short as Finn, and kind of skinny, but he had broad shoulders and the look of someone trying to bulk up.

“ _DID YOU THINK I WOULDN’T_ \--oh shit I’m so sorry.” His eyes went wide as soon as he saw Rey’s face. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I thought you were my friend Jessika, I’ve never met anyone with that shirt before and she’s always telling me how rare it is and she pranked me last night so I was gonna get back at her and _I’m so sorry._ ”

Rey’s eyes softened marginally. “That’s okay,” she said irritably, toeing her spilled coffee. The handsome boy’s eyes widened further.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said again. “Hey, listen, did you get that from the campus coffee shop? My buddy Wexley works there, c’mon, I’ll hook you up with another one.”

“It’s fine,” said Finn, just as Rey said, “Good, thanks.” They stared at each other, a battle of wills.

“Fiiiiine,” Finn sighed, glaring daggers at his best friend. She stooped to pick up the empty cup and lid, tossing them in the nearest garbage can.

“Cool.” The guy’s smile was blinding. “I’m Poe, Poe Dameron.”

“Rey,” she said, sticking her hand out to shake his.

Poe turned to Finn, a strange, shy look on his face. Finn shifted uncomfortably. Poe stuck out his hand, and Finn reminded himself to shake it; as soon as he took Poe’s hand, the spell broke, and Poe was grinning again. “I’m Finn,” he told him, and Poe’s smile widened.

“Finn,” Poe said, almost reverently, as though he were chewing it over and committing it to memory. “Alright, Finn, I figure you got your coffee from the campus shop too?”

“Yeah.” The three of them headed in the direction of the cafe, Finn ignoring Rey’s increasingly gleeful stare. “We go together every morning.”

“So Wexley fucked up your order, right?” Poe grinned at Finn’s startled look. Was he never not grinning? “Don’t worry, we’re good pals but he’s a shit barista, and he knows it. Pretty sure he fucks up people’s orders out of spite.”

“I told you!” Rey crowed, punching Finn’s arm.

“You did,” he said, rubbing his arm reproachfully. She rolled her eyes, linking her arm with his. Rey had been a foster child, didn’t really get much physical affection until Finn, and it’d taken her awhile to get used to, but now they were Physical Affection Buds, rarely walking without casual touches. “Yeah, it wasn’t….exactly what I asked for,” he admitted mournfully. “No whipped cream.”

“A crime,” said Poe, with an air of solemnity. “Dump it out, I’ll get you your whipped cream.”

“Oh, it’s fine--” Finn began, but Rey plucked his cup out of his hand, dropping it in the next garbage can they passed.

He glared at her, and she offered a sweet smile in return. _Sweet. Pff. Mischievous, scheming, more like._ ‘Traitor,’ he mouthed, and she stifled a laugh.

“So, Finn, Rey, what are your majors?” Poe asked casually, turning his face up towards the sun. Jeeeesus.

“I’m an Engineering major,” Rey said immediately. She loved her major, lived and breathed it, and never passed up an opportunity to talk about it.

“That’s awesome!” Poe said, and he sounded earnest. “Do you like math and stuff?”

“Yeah, I do,” she said with a soft smile. “Love it. Always have.”

“That’s so cool,” Poe marveled. “I always wished I was better at that stuff. My uncle owns a repair shop, I always liked hanging out there fixing cars and stuff. What about you, Finn?”

“Oh, uh.” Finn tightened his grip on Rey’s arm. She frowned at him, obviously worried. “English.” He winced, waiting for the inevitable, _‘Oh, are you a writer? Are your parents rich, then? Are you gonna be a teacher?’_ None of the above, his guidance counselor just told him he needed to declare _something_ , and all he could think about was how he’d cried reading a TS Eliot poem the night before and how reading Shakespeare aloud felt in his bones. He knew it was stupid and short-sighted, he knew he wasn’t going to just be reading poetry the rest of his life; however much he loved it, no one would pay him for that. He knew that. He didn’t want a handsome boy with pretty curls and warm eyes to tell him that on a sunny afternoon with his best friend.

“English!” Poe said, in the same strangely reverent tone as he’d repeated Finn’s name in. “That’s awesome, buddy. I’m a terrible writer. I like reading, but I don’t do enough of it, to be honest. Are you a writer, or an avid reader or what?”

“Uh, I just like reading poetry and stuff,” Finn muttered.

“Man, I can never figure out poetry until someone explains it to me,” he told him. “It sounds beautiful, I just can’t wrap my head around it. That’s awesome.”

“I’m not a poet or anything,” Finn told him, frowning.

“Well, I’m a history major, but I’m not a historian,” Poe shrugged. “You don’t have to be in a career field to appreciate it.”

“Yeah,” Finn said, and again, gaining confidence, “Yeah! Thanks, man.”

“Yeah,” Poe agreed, and held the door of the coffee shop open as they arrived. As soon as Finn and Rey were through, he followed them, grabbing a napkin off the short counter next to the door. He wadded it up and through it at the barista behind the counter as they approached. “Wexley!” He yelled.

“Oh, you again,” the barista sniffed. “Don’t you ever leave me alone?”

“Not a chance,” Poe said easily. “I hear you cheated this fine man out of his whipped cream.”

“Ohmygod what do you _want_ ,” the barista whined, leaning heavily on the counter.

“I accidentally spilled this person’s coffee because I thought she was Jess,” Poe said. “And then I find out you’ve been ruining my new friend Finn’s coffee every single morning.”

“I didn’t say _every_ morning--” Finn began, and Poe interrupted him to emphasize to Wexley, “ _Every morning,_ pal.”

“Whatever,” Wexley rolled his eyes. “If I give them coffee will you get out and leave me alone?”

“I’ll definitely get out of your hair for the next few hours,” Poe promised solemnly.

“Anything to buy a little peace and quiet. What’ll it be?”

“A chai latte, with whipped cream,” Finn muttered. “Name’s Finn.”

“ _With whipped cream,_ ” Poe repeated, loud enough to garner a few stares.

“A mocha,” Rey said, obviously delighted. “For Rey. R-E-Y.”

“And a german chocolate caffee,” Poe added. Kay-fee, like cake and coffee merged. _Ohmygod_.

“Wait, I want one of those!” Finn cried. “That sounds _amazing_.”

“Good man!” Poe crowed, clapping Finn on the back. “Two german chocolate caffees.”

“Fine, but you’re paying for yours,” Wexley grumbled. Poe shot him a brilliant smile.

“I thought he was your friend,” Finn said, as the three of them moved to the side to wait for their names.

“He is, one of my closest.” Poe frowned at him. “We live together. Why?”

“He was kind of mean to you,” Finn said nervously.

“Oh, that’s just Wexley,” Poe waved casually. “He’s a funny guy, don’t worry.”

Finn grinned. He’d always kind of wanted to have a friend group like Poe seemed to, easy and playful, but all he had was Rey. Who was amazing, of course, but he thought sometimes it’d be nice to have more friends. Wexley called their names, and Rey and Poe went to collect their coffees.

“So, who’s your friend with the excellent taste in music?” Rey asked when the three had settled down around a table, Poe with his legs sprawled out in front of him. Finn marveled at the confidence he projected.

“Who, Jessika? She’s such a hipster, she loves all kinds of pretentious music. She even has a band.” Poe’s eyes lit up. “She has a performance tonight, downtown! You guys should come, c’mon, let me make it up to you for accidentally attacking you.”

“You already made it up to us with the coffee,” Rey said, but before she could continue to give a polite excuse as to why they couldn’t go, Finn interrupted.

“But we could totally go just to hang out,” he said quickly, shooting Rey what she called his ‘patented puppy eyes.’

“That’d be even better.” Poe beamed at him, and Rey glared at him. She very much preferred to stay home and watch weird old movies together rather than go out, and usually Finn was inclined to agree. But. _But_ there was a hot guy with stylishly tousled curls and warm eyes with the kind of easy confidence Finn could only dream of inviting them out to see his cool friend’s band. This was a night for exception-making. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”

 

“You’re overthinking this,” Rey groaned, throwing herself on Finn’s bed. “He was obviously into you, you could show up in a garbage bag and he’d still be interested.”

“Ohmygod Rey, you’re gonna ruin my life,” he whined. He turned this way and that, inspecting how the outfit he’d picked out looked. “Can you please help? This looks terrible.”

She rolled her eyes, heaving herself off the bed and sorting through his closet for a few seconds before throwing him a plain black henley. “Wear this,” she instructed. “And those black jeans I bought you for Christmas last year. They make your ass look amazing. You’ll look _hot._ ”

“Just a black shirt?” He pulled the sweater he was wearing off and tossed it aside, tugging the shirt over his head. “Isn’t it a little basic?”

“It looks good, Finn. Everyone there will probably be a bunch of hipsters, super complicated and everything, you’ll stand out just by being minimalist.” She raised her right hand, adopting an air of gravity. “As a hipster myself, I swear by it.”

He laughed, trading the jeans he was wearing for Rey’s suggestion. “Whatever you say,” he sighed, checking his outfit out. Well, at least she was right about one thing. He did look kind of hot.

 

The address Poe had texted them ended up being a hilariously hip, unhilariously crowded coffee shop on Main Street. Rey clung to Finn’s arm, plastered to his side as they fought their way past the crowd clustered at the door, her breath coming fast, and he felt a pang of guilt for dragging her here. There was a reason she didn’t like to go out often, which Finn often forgot because of her tough disposition. Just when he was beginning to think there was no hope of finding Poe, he heard his voice carry over the din. Finn glanced around, searching for him, and Rey pointed him out. Poe sat in a spacious corner booth close to a short platform, upon which was a microphone, a guitar on a stand, and two stools. He sat on the end; on one side of him sat a pretty Chinese girl with warm eyes and dark hair, wearing a beanie and about six million layers, the top one of which was what looked to be a genuine army jacket. On Poe’s other side, sitting on the floor, was a golden retriever with an orange and white service dog vest, which Poe held the leash of.

Rey and Finn made their way to the booth as quickly as they could, and Poe stood to greet them, hugging Finn and, seeming to see something that discouraged contact in Rey’s face, offered his hand to shake hers.

“Hey, guys, glad you could make it,” he said, beaming. “This is Jessika, the lady of the evening, and you’ve met Wexley; and that’s Kare, L’ulo, and Oddy.” He gestured down at the dog sitting patiently on the floor. “This is BB-8, he’s my service dog.” Finn’s eyes lit up, and he almost started to pet him, before remembering that you weren’t supposed to pet service animals. Poe laughed. “It’s alright, he’s an anxiety service dog. You can pet him and stuff.”

“Oh, uh, Rey should sit down first,” Finn said, clearing his throat.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling at him tightly. She looked at the booth, likely seeing how crowded it was going to be with all of them.

“Here, L’ulo, would you mind helping Oddy set up for the show?” Jessika asked suddenly. She got to her feet, gesturing for the green-haired man and the man beside him to get out of the booth. She smiled at Rey, a smile even sunnier than Rey’s own as the two passed by. She took Oddy’s place on the end, across from Poe. Rey slid into the booth, and Finn followed her, sitting between she and Poe. Wexley scooted over to give her a wide berth, and she smiled gratefully.

“I’m so glad you guys could make it,” Poe said earnestly. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to chat with Oddy and Lu a little more, but they’ll be back during intermission,” he assured them.

“So, Poe says he attacked you in cold blood and then used your tragedy to con Wexley here out of three of his free employee coffees,” Jessika said, grinning at the two of them. Rey, who was beginning to relax now that she wasn’t crushed between strangers on all sides, shook her head.

“He said it was an accident,” Finn explained, and Jessika laughed.

“Seems like he was just looking for an excuse to talk to _you_ \-- _ow!_ ” She scowled at Poe, who was taking an innocent sip of his beer.

“Sorry, Jess,” he said. “I thought that was a pole.”

“Sure ya did,” she grumbled. “You’re the _worst._ ”

“I might be, if you weren’t already.”

“You’re a child.”

“I know you are, but what am I?”

Finn stifled a laugh, earning an appreciative smile from Poe.

“Oh, don’t encourage him,” Jessika rolled her eyes. “That’s the last thing he needs, a pretty boy like you indulging his terrible sense of humor.”

“I think he’s very funny,” Finn said defensively, and she sighed.

“I’ve lost hope in you,” she informed him, turning to Rey. “So, tell me. Poe says he’s finally met someone with a decent taste in music.”

Finn tuned out, looking around at the decor in the coffee shop. It was very sci-fi/retro, like a 50s imagining of a futuristic cafe, with neon signs, floor tiles lit blue from below, rocket ship decorations. It was….very cool.

“I’m glad you came,” Poe said, and Finn turned to look at him.

“Me too.” He knew he should say more, but his eyes were just...entrancing. “So.” He cleared his throat, interrupting his own reverie. “How do you know Jessika?”

“She was my roommate my first year,” Poe said casually, picking a bite of bread off a roll at the center of the table and feeding it to BB-8.

“Your roommate?” Finn frowned. “Girls and guys can be roommates?” What the fuck, why had he suffered Nines when he could’ve been with _Rey_.

“Oh, uh.” Poe laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. BB-8 laid his head in Poe’s lap. “Well, the university policy for trans students is that you have to have started medically transitioning or have a doctor’s instructions to allow you to room with your gender. My doctor wouldn’t give me the note, and I didn’t start transitioning until second semester, so we roomed together. She was cool with it, complained all the time about getting ‘boy-stink’ all over the room, but I’m gay, so she knew I wasn’t ogling her or anything.”

“You’re trans?” Finn asked, frowning. He’d been….sheltered, to say the least, up until college. His parents had been strict as hell. Two days before move-in day, he came out to his parents as bisexual, and when they kicked him out, he called a Lyft to take him to school. He slept on a bench off campus until move-in day, and he hadn’t spoken to them since. He’d heard of trans people, since moving out, _duh_ , but he didn’t think he’d ever met anyone who was trans.

A tense silence had descended over the table. It seemed Poe’s friends had heard the topic of their conversation. “Is that a problem?” Poe asked.

“No, I was just surprised,” he admitted. “I think it’s cool. I’ve never met a trans person before--well, not that I know of.” He smiled. “It’s cool.”

Poe relaxed, and his friends returned to their conversations. “That’s not usually the reaction I get,” he told him, relaxing his vice grip on BB-8’s leash.

“That's dumb," Finn said, frowning. It _was_ cool. It took a lot to live a person's truth, a lot of courage Finn wasn't sure he had enough of until he finally came out.

“Just bigotry.” He raised his beer. “Hey, no need to talk about this depressing stuff. It’s a night of celebration. Jess, when does your set start?”

“In about five minutes,” she replied, checking her watch. “I’m gonna go warm up,” she told them. She focused on Rey. “I hope you like the show,” she said sincerely, and turned to stride onto the platform

“Ohmygod Jessika,” Poe muttered.

“What?” Finn asked, frowning. What had Jessika done?

“Nothing. She just has the subtly of a hailstorm,” Poe chuckled. “Hey, how about I get you guys a drink?”

 

When Oddy had rejoined the group after setting up the sound equipment, Jessika began by introducing herself and L’ulo as ‘Black Squadron.’ She really was pretty good; she had a beautiful voice, and the lyrics were lovely. L’ulo was a magician on the guitar, and with the combination of the alcohol and good music, the night was flying by. Even Rey seemed to be having fun, staring open mouthed at Jess on stage with stars in her eyes.

Poe--beautiful, friendly Poe--seemed amused with how giggly Finn and Rey were, leaning on each other and laughing at everything Poe and his friends said. At some point, the music stopped for a bit, and Finn frowned, disappointed.

“Is the show over?” Rey asked, echoing his thoughts.

“No, I’m just gonna do a duet with Jess, this is our song,” he assured them.

“Wait, you’re gonna sing?” Finn’s eyes widened. _Nooooooooooooo_ . Poe couldn’t sing, that’d be ridiculous. It’d be ridiculous if he was so friendly and handsome and cool _and he could also sing_.

“Yeah, of course, buddy,” Poe said, with a bright smile. “Jess and I wrote this song together. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a minute.”

He handed BB-8’s leash to Wexley and sauntered off, stepping onto the platform with a wave to the crowd.

“Give it up for my buddy Poe!” Jessika cried into the microphone, and everyone clapped. Finn let out a ‘ _whoop!_ ’ and Rey cried, ‘go Poe!’ and then muttered to herself, ‘go pro,’ sending herself into a fit of giggles.

“This is for my new pal Finn,” Poe said, eyes sliding to meet Finn’s.

Finn leaned into Rey. “ _Holy shit,_ ” he whispered, downing half of his beer.

“And my new friend Rey,” Jessika added, with a wink in Rey’s direction.

Rey leaned back into Finn. “ _Holy shit,_ ” she agreed, reaching over to down the rest of his beer.

“ _I’ve been gone for so long now,_ ” Poe sang, and Finn _squeaked_. Holy shit he was good. Like, smooth as honey, warm and sweet, and Finn was absolutely melting.

He barely held it together throughout the song, barely noticing Jessika’s verse or their harmonizing. All he could focus on was _Poe_ , his voice, his flushed face, his messy curls, the way his eyes barely left Finn’s the entire song.

 _How have I only known him a few hours?_ Finn marveled. _I feel like I’ve known him forever._

The song didn’t last nearly long enough. When Poe returned, settling in next to Finn, he met Finn’s wide-eyed gape with a raised brow. “Well, did you like it?” If Finn didn’t know better, he’d say he sounded nervous.

“Like it? I _loved_ it, holy _shit_ , Poe, that was _amazing_!” Finn cried, bumping Poe with his shoulder. “I can’t believe you can sing that well, that’s professional level.”

“Aw, buddy,” Poe said, ducking his head. “Thanks. I wasn’t a good singer before I got on testosterone--that’s what I take to pass as a guy--when it changed my voice, it got a lot deeper, and Jess said I sounded good, so I’ve been playing with Black Squadron on and off again.”

“Well, Jess was right.” Finn smiled, feeling the warmth in his chest expanding.

They lapsed into easy conversation, Finn, Poe, Rey, and Poe’s friends, applauding at the end of every song in Jessika’s set until the end. The crowd, which hadn’t thinned much at all as the night wore on, went wild, demanding an encore, but Jessika and L’ulo regretfully announced that they were too tired to continue, earning disappointed groans from their fans.

Finn and Rey both purchased copies of the Black Squadron CDs from the stand set up in front of the podium--Finn’s heart swelled to see ‘Never Had,’ the song Poe had sang with Jess, on the tracklist--and the group shoved their way through the crowd and out the front door. People seemed to move out of the way quicker seeing BB-8 in his service vest, which Poe explained was part of his purpose. “Besides being the best dog in the world, of course,” he said sincerely, with a pat on BB-8’s head, and all Finn could think was, _how do I want to kiss you this much I literally just met you._

Rey seemed to be hanging on Jessika’s every word, eyes bright and standing closer to her than Rey did to really anyone. Finn wondered if his friend was falling as hard for Poe’s friend as Finn was for Poe.

Finn shivered despite the warmth the alcohol had spread through his body, and Poe frowned. “Oh, hey, are you cold, buddy?” He shrugged out of his leather jacket, handing it to Finn. “No, no, really, I’m warm-blooded, I don’t need it,” he assured him when he began to protest.

Finn took it hesitantly, pulling it on. It smelled like cinnamon, honey, and ever-so-slightly of dog, like Poe. “Thanks,” he murmured.

“Yeah, no problem.” Poe hesitated, and then clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, listen. Thanks for coming out tonight. You--you and Rey are great. You’re _awesome_. I’m kinda glad I attacked her unprovoked from behind.”

“I’m kinda glad you did too,” Finn said with a smile. “And I think she probably is too.”

They turned to look at Jessika and Rey, who looked like they were about to start making out right there on the sidewalk. “Something tells me you’re right,” Poe laughed.

Kare approached the two couples with a knowing grin. “Hey, love birds, we should probably get back to campus,” she told them. “It’s almost 1 AM.”

“Oh God, Nines is gonna kill me,” Finn whined, and Rey laughed at him.

“You think your roommate is bad, try _mine_ ,” she told him. “She’s probably decided that I died and has already eaten all my food and sold all my belongings.”

“Well, it’s not that unreasonable,” he said. “Since you never go out and all--” Rey punched him in the shoulder, and he clutched at it, feigning an egregious wound and garnering uproarious laughter from Poe’s friends.

The group walked back to campus together, with the exception of Oddy, who apparently had an apartment and turned off onto a block of mostly apartment buildings with a wave.

“We should get an apartment,” Rey mumbled to Finn. She had an arm draped around Jessika’s shoulders, leaning her head into her neck. “All of us.”

“All of us?” Jessika asked, wrapping an arm around Rey’s waist to support her. She looked like she was about to pass out; Finn and Rey had only gotten drunk together once before, and she had crashed almost immediately. “Think that’d get a little crowded.”

“We could make it work,” Poe declared, throwing an arm around Finn. “Right, Finn?”

“Yeah,” he said, dizzy with the warmth of Poe pressed against his side. “Right. Right. Right.”

“You’re still saying right,” Rey told him.

“I _know_ ,” he snapped, blushing. “It was on purpose. For emphasis.”

“Riiiiiight,” Rey giggled. “Right. Right, right, right. Right, Jess?”

“Right,” Jessika said. She and Poe exchanged some sort of look Finn couldn’t decipher. He hoped it was good. Rey deserved someone nice like Jessika.

 

L’ulo escorted Finn directly to his door, as they apparently lived in the same building. Poe and Wexley, evidently, lived in the building next door. A _tragedy_. But it explained why Finn had never noticed him before; his was not a face he’d forget. Finn hoped Kare and Jess had escorted Rey to her room as well, or else she might fall asleep in the elevator.

Finn had been right, Nines was furious when Finn came stumbling in and kicked his shoes and jeans off. He tumbled into bed still wearing the henley and Poe’s jacket, not caring how hard Nines was going to laugh at him in the morning for sleeping in boxers and a leather jacket, and pulled his laptop towards him. He inserted the CD he’d bought, and clicked immediately on ‘Never Had,’ falling asleep almost immediately to the sound of Poe’s voice.

 

He woke up to a decidedly less pleasant sound--Rey’s ringtone, I Really Like You by Carly Rae Jepsen, which she hated--blasting out of his phone. He wasn’t sure why he had a special ringtone for her, since she was really the only person that called him, but he guessed it helped him differentiate between her and telemarketers. He fumbled to answer the call.

“Hello?” he mumbled groggily.

“Did last night really happen?” she asked, and he smiled at her obvious excitement. “I mean I’m staring at a CD right now that says it probably happened, but maybe it’s a figment of my imagination.”

“I think it happened,” he assured her. “It could be a collective delusion, but since I’m wearing Poe’s jacket, it’s probably not.”

“Wearing--wait, did you _sleep in it?_ ” she cried, and he groaned, holding the phone away from his ear.

“Maybe,” he grumbled. “I was really drunk! It’s not my fault.”

“Yeah, okay.” She paused. “Want to get breakfast? Because I’m dying for something super greasy right now.”

“You bet,” he told her. “Just. Give me a while to start feeling the rest of my body, because all I feel is a really awful headache.”

“I gotcha,” she said. “Text me when you’re ready to meet up. _Chao_.”

“You’re a dork,” he deadpanned, and she hung up with a laugh.

Just before he fell asleep again, his phone pinged, and he groaned, squinting at it, and nearly squeaked when he saw the text was from _Poe_.

_want 2 grab breakfast? bet u need coffee =D_

_and i can get my fave jacket back :^)_

Breakfast! With! Poe!

Two options: he could play it safe, and tell Poe he already had plans with Rey, or he could get breakfast with the hottest guy he’d ever met.

He opened his chat with Rey. _Poe wants to get breakfast. Rain check?_

She replied less than a minute later. _FUCKING OF COURSE RAINCHECK GO HIT THAT <3<3<3 _with a string of emojis that appeared as question marks.

Finn groaned. His best friend was so embarrassing.

 _I’d love to!_ He sent to Poe.

_awesome buddy!! !_

_diner on main street at 10?_

Then, several seconds later, _my treat._

Holyshit.

 

The diner Poe had suggested was almost as charming as Poe himself, who waved him over to a booth beside the giant storefront window as soon as he walked in. BB-8 sat on the floor beside him, his tail beginning to wag when he saw Finn approach.

“BB-8 likes you,” Poe told him. “He doesn’t like everyone. He can tell you’re special.”

“I’m special?” Finn asked, frowning.

“Yeah, of course, buddy,” Poe frowned. “Of course you are. Hey, I ordered you a coffee.” He pushed a chipped mug towards him.

“Thank God,” Finn said, immediately dumping 4 spoonfuls of sugar in it. “This place has, like. Bacon, right? And sausage? And eggs?” He thought for a moment. “And hashbrowns?”

Poe laughed. “You bet, pal. I love the hashbrowns, and BB-8 can swear by the rest.” He patted BB-8’s head. “I’m a vegetarian,” he explained. “BB-8 is very much a fan of bacon and sausages though.”

“I’ll bet,” Finn said with a grin. “Uh, are you?” He gestured awkwardly at the menu in front of him. “Fine with me eating meat, then?”

“Of course, dude,” Poe chuckled. “Wouldn’t have brought you to the greasiest diner I could think of if I wasn’t.”

“Oh, cool.” They lapsed into a comfortable silence as Finn studied the menu. That was one of the things he’d come to love about Poe over the short day they’d known each other--everything came easy with him, even things that didn’t normally, silence just as much as conversation flowed as naturally as though it were scripted.

The waitress who took their order reminded Finn of every waitress character in every 80s movie ever made. This place was hilariously, gloriously cliche. Poe ordered waffles and hashbrowns for himself, and a plate of bacon for BB-8, while Finn ordered pancakes, breakfast sausage, and “however much bacon wouldn’t be an embarrassing amount to bring to one person, but still an abnormally large amount,” which made Poe laugh.

“So, how’d you meet Rey?” Poe asked, leaning forward. He kept his elbows off the table, but only barely.

“We just kind of...ran into each other,” Finn shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee. “Neither of us really had many friends, and one day someone asked me to move from the table I was sitting at in the mess hall, and she invited me to sit at hers. And then we just kind of….never stopped sitting together, or talking.” As if in demonstration, his phone pinged, the screen lighting up with a preview of Rey’s message. “Ever.”

“That’s really cool,” Poe said softly. He smiled, gesturing towards the phone. “You can answer that. I’ve gotten about a dozen from Jess anyway.”

“Thanks,” Finn murmured, grabbing his phone.

 _JESSIKA ASKED ME OUT SHE TEXTED ME AND ASKED IF I WANTED TO GO TO DINNER HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT_.

“Jessika asked Rey out!” Finn announced excitedly, and Poe cursed. Finn frowned at him. “What’s wrong?”

“What? Oh, nothing, just something we had going this morning,” Poe smiled. “I’m happy for them.”

The waitress brought their food out, and Poe fed a piece of bacon to an excited BB-8. Poe--or rather, BB-8--had been right, the sausage and bacon was delicious, and the pancakes were _divine_ . Finn moaned, digging in with a fervor. “Poe,” he said solemnly. “I love you. You’ve made my entire _life_ with these pancakes, man.”

“Well, it’s only fair,” Poe said, and at Finn’s inquiring glance, smiled. “Since you made my night.”

“Oh,” Finn said, for lack of anything else, around a mouthful of bacon. “Well. You made my night, too.”

They talked for a while, about their majors, about their friends--or, in Finn’s case, friend--and about their career goals. Poe wanted to be a forest ranger, apparently. Finn wasn’t sure what he wanted to be. Poe said that was wonderful.

After they finished their meals, they stayed a while drinking their coffees until the waitress brought out the bill. “Here, I’ve got it,” Poe said, grabbing it before Finn could.

“No, I can pay.” Finn frowned, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.

“I’d like to pay,” Poe told him. “I really would, I like paying for my friends. Please?”

“Um,” Finn said, a little dumbfounded. “Yeah, okay. _This time._ ”

Poe grinned, pulling several bills out of his pocket and dropping them on the table. “C’mon, I’ve got about an hour til work. I’ll walk you back to campus.”

It was a beautiful day, with the sun warm enough on their backs to remind Finn to return Poe’s jacket. “Here--sorry, I totally forgot last night--”

“No,” Poe held up a hand. “Keep it.” He bit his lip with a smile. “It suits you.”

“Oh. If you’re sure,” he said hesitantly, and Poe beamed.

“I’m absolutely positive.” He paused. “Hey, listen.” Poe rested a hand on his arm, pulling him to a stop. “Um. I don’t know, if this is too soon, or if you’re--if you’re interested in guys or not, but uh. I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner sometime.”

Finn stared.

“Uh.” Poe let out a nervous chuckle, running a hand through his hair. “Can you say something?”

“Are you serious?” Finn burst out, his heart thundering in his chest.

“Er.” Poe blinked. “That’s the idea. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t, buddy. It’s fine if you’re not interested,” he said in a rush. “I still want to be friends--”

“Yes,” Finn said quickly. “I mean, yes. Yes, I’m interested. I’m _super_ interested. I’m so interested you have _no idea.”_ He laughed, the joy and nerves in his chest bubbling up. “Honestly, I’m surprised that you’re interested, I mean, you’re _so hot._ Like the surface of the _sun_ hot.”

Poe frowned at him. “What, and you think you’re _not_? Finn, the second I saw you, I could barely take my eyes off you. As soon as we left the coffee shop, I skipped class to go find Jessika and talk for, like, two hours about how awesome you are. Finn, you’re incredible! You have the softest eyes I’ve ever seen and the warmest smile and honestly, all I could think about last night was how much I wanted to kiss you.”

Finn swallowed hard. “Do you still? Want to kiss me, I mean?”

“More than anything,” Poe admitted.

“Would it be too soon if I kissed you right now?” Finn asked nervously. “I haven’t really dated a lot of people, so--” he was interrupted by Poe’s lips meeting his. Poe wrapped an arm around his waist, the other hand holding BB-8’s leash, and Finn leaned into the kiss, his tongue swiping along Poe’s lower lip.

Poe leaned back, eyes wide. “That was. Amazing,” he whispered. “Holy shit, Finn, you’re amazing.”

Finn blushed, shaking his head. “Nah--”

“ _Yeah_ ,” Poe insisted. He shook his head. “Jesus. _Jesus_. Mary and Joseph. Hey, if I take you to lunch too, can dinner count as our third date?”

Finn laughed nervously. “Sure, but.” He stopped, looking away. “Poe, I’ve never--done anything before, so.” He stopped again, unsure of what to say. He didn’t want Poe to think he was _rejecting_ him, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready. He just met him _yesterday_.

“Hey, buddy,” Poe said, his tone softening. “I was just joking, I promise. I haven’t either, you know?”

“Really?” Finn tried to bite back his surprise. “But you’re so.” _Hot_ , he wanted to say, but saying it once already was embarrassing enough.

“Bottom dysphoria makes stuff like that hard,” Poe admitted. “Uh, that’s discomfort with not having a dick. Anyway, we don’t have to rush into anything, is what I mean.” He smiled. “We can go as slow as you want. No pressure.”

“No pressure,” Finn repeated. After a moment of hesitation, he took Poe’s hand. “We could kiss a lot more, though.”

“Could we?” Poe asked, eyes sparkling as they resumed walking.

“Hell yeah,” Finn grinned. “I’d like that.”

“I’d like that too,” Poe said, squeezing his hand.

Finn had never been gladder of someone attacking his best friend in cold blood.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from [Never Had](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEvIaQifj5c) by Oscar Isaac (also the song Poe sings). The alternate title could probably be 'holy shit' because it's probably said about 30 times in this fic.  
> Idea from [this](http://nerds-are-cool.tumblr.com/post/133544218971/if-youre-struggling-for-au-ideas-take) list of AUs because I'm a big fan of Poe "An Absolute Sweetheart To Absolutely Everyone Except His Best Friend Jessika" Dameron  
> Come visit me on tumblr at [deadgreeks!](http://deadgreeks.tumblr.com/)  
> Thanks for reading :)


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